Texas, Oh Texas
by xxxWARGIRLxxx
Summary: CanadaxOC. Highschool setting. human names used. Matthew thinks that no one pays any attention to him, but what happens when a Texan gal enters his life? Will she make it better, or worse? Read to find out! First fanfic so go easy on me!


_**Texas, oh Texas**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or their characters. Only the idea for this story and my created character Saphira (but not her name, I named her after a dragon in Eragon, which doesn't belong to me either) belongs to me. **

**A/N: She doesn't really represent any country…well I guess she kinda represents the Republic of Texas (yes peoples, Texas used to be its' own country.) because I 3 Texas! Oh and a little OOCness from Canada. And to clarify, not everyone from Texas has a southern accent! I hate it when people think that. Oh well, enjoy. :D Sorry its just one blob, but I dont have time to do individual chapters.**

_**Chapter 1:**_

~~~POV Canada~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was just sitting in the back of my homeroom. I never bothered talking to anybody, because no one saw me anyway. Well, I sometimes talked to Kiku, Arthur, and my brother Alfred, but otherwise I just went through the motions of the day.

"Class," Mrs. Rutherford, their homeroom teacher said, "I would like you to meet your new classmate." She then motioned for someone outside the room to come in. The new girl walked in the room shyly and gave a small wave to the class. I just stared at her. She was remarkably beautiful, even with the punk outfit she was wearing, with raven hair that had maroon streaks down to her waist, and unusual gold colored eyes. I even heard a few boys whistle at her.

At that she glared at them and said "My name's Saphira, and if ya make a pass at me, I'll beat ya senseless." If anything, that got the boys more riled up. You could tell she was from the Deep South because of her southern accent. It sounded like she was trying to cover up her accent when she talked, but it was pretty obvious she was a southerner.

"Uh…okay. Well, you can sit in that empty seat in the back of the class then." Mrs. Rutherford instructed, apparently shocked at the new girl's attitude toward the boys. Saphira gave a curt nod and walked briskly to the empty seat next to him. Great, yet another person to ignore him and make him feel invisible.

"Um…howdy." I heard her say. I looked over at her, genuinely shocked that she saw me, let alone spoke to me. "Uh, you can talk, right?" she asked in a sweet voice.

"U-u-uh, y-yeah." I replied.

"Have a name, stranger?" Saphira smiled.

"Yeah, I-I'm Matthew. M-Matthew Williams." I stuttered.

"Cool," she grinned "that's a nice name. Well, as ya know, I'm Saphira, Saphira McClellan."

"Hey, Saphira? Why are you talking to that nobody over there? Talk to us~!" One of the popular boys said to her. Before she could respond scornfully, the bell rang.

"Ugh, great, I have gym first period." Saphira groaned.

"H-hey, I have t-that next. I-I'll show you the w-way if you'd like." I offered. She smiled, and followed him to their next class.

~~~POV Saphira~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have always hated gym class. Always. I just happened to be very athletic, so usually the gym coaches liked me. And anyway, at least I had a, well… I guess I could call him a friend, here with me. So, I headed into the girls locker room. All of the girls were changing into their gym clothes, but, unfortunately for me, I forgot to bring some.

"Do you need some clothes?" I heard a meek voice ask me. I turned around to see a small blonde headed girl. She looked nice enough. "Oh, my name's Lili."

"Yup, I guess I do. I'm Saphira. Thanks for the clothes Lili!" I replied as she handed me a pair of clothes and I quickly changed into them. Then I walked out of the locker room. As soon as I did, I could hear the whispers coming from the boys, such as 'Isn't that the hot girl?' and 'Dude, I've totally got to ask her out'*. Ugh, I hate it when boys talk about me. I guess this is the price for beauty, but it's not like I chose to be pretty.

"Alright ladies, listen up!" One of the coaches boomed. I think his name is Griffin or somethin'. "Today, we are timing you for the 100m dash. As long as you get within 17 seconds you're good. Now get out on the football field!" We all hurried outside and lined up. It took forever for it to be my turn. A lot of other kids before me got within the 15-13 second range. I stood behind the starting line and waited for the coach's whistle.

TWEET! I took off like a bullet, and reached the finish line in no time.

"What time did I get, Coach?" I questioned him.

He looked at me with a dumbstruck face and said "Nine seconds. That's the fastest time any boy or girl has ever gotten at this school." Everyone stared at me when they heard this. Great, now I feel even more like a freak.

***No, it was not Alfred who said that. I realized like three days into this that it sounded like Alfred. :P**

~~~POV Canada~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ever since gym class, everyone had been trying to get Saphira to join the track team. She has had to sneak around just to get from class to class. Now it was lunch, and so far there was no sign of her. Then I saw everyone gathering around the entrance of the lunchroom.

"Heh, there's Saphira." Matthew muttered to himself. He knew what was going to happen. She would start hanging out with the 'popular' kids and stop talking to him, and then he would be right back where he was before she came here. Matthew let out a sigh. He should've known better than to think that she would become his friend.

"Hey, Matthew! Can I sit here?" I heard a cheery but tired voice say. I looked up to see Saphira gesturing to the seat next to me.

"O-of c-course!" I stuttered as a scooted over to make room.

"Thank ya so much! All of the popular people have been doggin' me ta sit with them. I can't stand people like that!" Saphira said scornfully as she glared at the 'popular' boys who were staring at her and trying to get her attention.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Arthur coming over to sit with us. As he sat down across from us, he said, "Oh, you must be the new girl! I'm Arthur, Arthur Kirkland."

At this Saphira giggled and replied, "I-I'm Saphira McClellan. Your accent is so cute! You're British, right?" Arthur nodded and blushed a bright red color.

"You are from the south, are you not?" he asked.

This time it was Saphira's turn to blush, "Yup, born and raised in Bandera, Texas. That's outside San Antonio a little ways."

The rest of lunch, they chatted about random things with Kiku Honda, who joined them not too long after Arthur. I mainly watched Saphira talk; only joining in when spoken directly to. _'Man, Saphira is so pretty; inside and out.'_ I thought to myself. _'But even if you became friends with her, she'd never go out with you.'_ I sighed to myself. One way or another, I was going to have to try to win her, because I'd probably never meet another girl like her in my life.

~~~POV Saphira~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'_Finally, it's the end of the day!'_ I thought with relief. There weren't many kids in the hallway; one or two would pass by from time ta time. I had just closed my locker when I felt a hand grab my ass. On instinct, I whipped around and punched whoever it was in the face and sent them sprawling.

"Honhonhonhonhon~ someone is a little feisty!" I heard from the dude I just punched. He sounded French. Ugh, I **HATE** the French.

"What was your first clue, my right hook?" I sneered sarcastically.

"Dude, you like totally got burned by a girl!" I heard an obnoxious voice say as he and a group of boys stepped out of their hiding places.

I totally freaked when I saw all those guys come up. Thinking they were going ta threaten me somehow, I pulled out my pocketknife from my combat boot (since everyone in Texas is prepared for stuff like this) and growled "Stay away from me if ya know what's good for ya." Some of the boys looked at me wide-eyed, but others just 'ooh'ed.

"S-Saphira, are y-you alright?" I heard a familiar voice say behind me. I turned around and saw Matthew, whose eyes widened when he saw the pocketknife. But to my surprise, he didn't say anything ta me about it. He just turned to one of the boys and said accusingly, "A-Alfred, are you tormenting S-Saphira?"

The boy, Alfred, replied, "N-no! Of course not! It was Francis who was bothering her, grabbing her ass! I just-"

"You just stood by and watched, right? That's the same thing you do to me." Matthew hissed. Alfred looked down guiltily. I stared at Matthew in shock, for he didn't seem like the type to get pissed off. He turned to me, grabbing my arm and said, "C-Come on, Saphira. Let's get away from these losers." I willingly followed.

**A/N: It was so hard writing America as a kind of bad guy (I 3 America!) but later he will redeem himself as the hero once more! ;) And I do not like France. Not at all. If I had to kill a character in Hetalia it would be him. :)**

_**Chapter 2:**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia; the only thing I own is the idea for this story and my character, Saphira (but not her name)**

**A/N: I'm so sad because Saphira gets her heart broken…you'll find out why if you read. ;) **

~~~POV Canada~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**(Flashback)** As I rounded the corner, I saw Francis walking Saphira's way. I figured he would just walk by her, but I should've known better. I watched horrified as Francis grabbed her butt. I was about to jump in and help her, but she quickly turned around and punched him in the face.

"Honhonhohonhonhonhon~ someone is a little feisty!" Francis grinned perversely at her.

"What was your first clue, my right hook?" Saphira snarled. Boy was she pissed.

"Dude, you like totally got burned by a girl!" I heard an all-too-familiar voice laugh. Alfred. He and his buddies knew that was what Francis was going to do. More than likely they put him up to it. They should've known better than to do that. But they just stood by and let it happen. I clenched my fists. No one deserved that kind of treatment, especially not you.

"Stay away from me if ya know what's good for ya." I heard Saphira hiss and saw her pull something out of her boot. Whatever it was impressed some of the boys, and scared the others. I better step in before someone gets hurt.

"S-Saphira, are y-you alright?" I asked her. She turned around, surprised to hear me. Then I saw what was in her hand. A pocketknife. I stared at it wide-eyed, but I didn't say anything to her. I turned to my brother and said, "A-Alfred, are you tormenting S-Saphira?"

He responded by saying, "N-no! Of course not! It was Francis who was bothering her, grabbing her ass! I just-"

"You just stood by and watched, right? That's the same thing you do to me." I growled at him. He looked down, ashamed. As well as he should be. He goes on and on saying he's 'the hero' yet he doesn't help her. I turn to her, grab her arm and say as I lead her away, "C-Come on, Saphira. Let's get away from these losers."

**(Back to present time) **I just wanted to get Saphira as far away from those…creeps as fast as possible. Still having an iron grip on her arm, I walked her far away from the school and into the city park. I find a bench for her to sit on as I pace back and forth angrily.

"Umm…Matthew…are you okay?" she asked me cautiously.

I let out an angry sigh and sit next to her, "N-No, not r-really. I can't b-believe Francis did t-that to you!"

She gave me a solemn smile and said, "Don't worry 'bout it Matthew, I'm use to it."

"B-but t-that doesn't mean that y-you have to take it!" I stuttered angrily.

"C'mon, Matthew, I'm a big girl; you don't hav'ta protect me. I fight my own battles." Saphira said to me. "By the way, what time is it?"

"U-um….it's 5:30." I told her.

"Shit! I was supposed ta be home like an hour ago! Sorry, I've gotta go," she explained as she started running out of the park.

"H-hey Saphira," I shouted (well, it was more like a loud whisper).

"What?" she stopped and turned around.

"Um…d-do you w-want t-to hang out with m-me some time?" I ask nervously.

"Sure, but I'll ask ya the details tomorrow at school, cause I've really gotta go." Saphira called back to me as she took off. '_Wow_,' I thought to myself, '_that was easier than I thought it would be.' _

~~~POV Saphira~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Um… d-do you w-want t-to hang out with m-me some time?" Matthew asked me shyly, his face blushing slightly. I couldn't believe it; someone actually wanted to hang out with me! And on the first day too!

"Sure," I called back as I started running home, "but I'll ask you the details tomorrow at school, cause I've really gotta go." Uncle Yao would be pleased that I made a friend on the first day. That is, until Uncle found out he was a boy. I sighed inwardly, thinking of my uncle's reaction to my only friend. Luckily, in a few minutes I reached my apartment and unlocked the door.

"Uncle, I'm home!" I called out.

"Aiyah! You don't have to shout-aru! I have good hearing." I heard my uncle complain with a grin on his face. "Come and eat, and tell me how your first day at school was."

**(A week later)** I was so glad it was the end of school! Now I get to hang out with Matthew! I grinned at the thought. I hadn't been this happy since…No, don't think about it, or you'll be all depressed when you hang out with Matthew. _'But sooner or later, he's going to find out' _a voice said in your head. _'Shut up, conscience!_' I thought to myself. I was almost out the door when I heard someone being beaten up. Wanting to help, I rushed over to see what was the matter. Two jocks were pinning Matthew against the lockers as a third jock repeatedly punched him in the stomach. No way in hell was I gonna let them beat up my best friend. My only friend I had in years.

"Hey! Let him go!" I shouted at them as I pulled on the dude who was punching Matthew.

He gave me an evil smile and said to his buddies "C'mon, I think we made our point. Lets get out of here." Then they took off, but I wasn't worried about them. I helped Matthew up off the ground to notice his nose was bleeding.*

"Here, let me help." I said to him soothingly.

He gave me a look that made me want to shutter and said, "I'm fine. Now leave me alone."

"But I wanna help-" I began to say before Matthew cut me off.

"You've h-helped enough a-already. T-the reason they j-jumped me was because of you." he said icily.

All the breath I had felt like it got sucked out of me. I started shaking out of anger, but I couldn't bring myself to hit him.

I wound up saying, "If it makes ya feel better, then you can blame this on me. I doubt you'll want ta talk ta me for a while. In fact, I don't wanna talk to you anymore either."

"S-Saphira, you don't understand…" Matthew started to explain, but I didn't want ta hear it.

"No, I understand just fine, Matthew." I hissed at him with tears rolling down my face. "Just cause I'm from the south doesn't mean I'm stupid. I don't feel like being friends with ya anymore. Bye, Matthew." I choked out. Then I turned and ran as fast as my legs would take me, not stopping when he called my name.

Eventually I stopped at the park, the same park Matthew took me to after my first day of school. I sat under one of the big oak trees and cried my heart out. My only real friend in years turned out ta be a jerk.

I stayed in the park till 2:00 AM. Uncle Yao would be angry with me, but honestly, I didn't care anymore. Life doesn't seem worth living as much as it did a week ago, when I had met Matthew.

~~~POV Canada~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'_I can't believe I said that to her.'_ I thought sadly to myself. _'God, I'm such and idiot!' _I punched the wall in my room out of frustration. Luckily, I didn't break my hand, but it still hurt a lot.

"Yo, what's wrong?" I heard Alfred ask quietly.

"I…I said something I shouldn't have." Then I told him what happened.

"Man, I'm sorry…that must really suck. You really love her, huh?" He said after I told him the story. I nodded, too sad to speak.

"T-the guys t-that beat me up s-said that they would h-hurt her if I didn't stay away. God, I hope she forgives me…" I whisper, burying my face in my hands.

"Well, I'll try to help you bro, but I don't think I'll be much help. Try telling her what really happened." Alfred responds and leaves my room.

***His nose was bleeding cause the jocks punched him in the face, NOT for other reasons…you dirty minded people. LOL like I have room to talk! **

_**Chapter 3:**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. Wish I did. **

**A/N: Don't worry, Saphira won't kill herself…but I won't reveal more. :P**

~~~POV Saphira~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It has been two weeks and three days since I've spoken ta Matthew. (When I say I'm gonna hold a grudge, I mean it.) The first week he tried talking ta me so many times, but every time he tried, I just turned and walked away. I just acted like I didn't hear or see him, like so many others at this school. Now that I wasn't friends with Matthew anymore, I didn't talk ta anybody. Sometimes Arthur or Kiku would come talk to me at lunch, but I told them ta go away after a while, cause I didn't want them to be sucked into depression along with me. So today I was sitting at a lunch table all by myself, not bothering ta buy something ta eat, when Alfred, Matthew's brother, sat in front of me.

"Hey, Sa-" he started to say

"Cut the BS. What the hell do ya want from me?" I interrupted. Better ta just cut ta the chase and not beat around the bush.

"O.K., I know Mattie and you are fighting. He told me what happened…" Alfred began.

"Yea, he blamed him getting beat up on me, did he tell ya that?" I growled.

"Actually, he did," He replied somewhat coolly, "But he did that out of anger towards the bullies, not you…he was trying to protect you."

"So he protects me by hurtin' me. That's stupid. And what was he trying ta protect me from? Them makin' passes at me?" I questioned. Secretly, I wanted to believe that Matthew meant good by what he said, but part of me wanted to continue hating him.

"He said they threatened to hurt you if he didn't stop hanging out with you. Most likely, they were jealous. But Matthew cares for you; you're one of his only friends." This was the most serious I'd ever seen him. He always seemed like a brainless jock, but I guess I was wrong about him. I looked over ta where Matthew usually sat. He sat there staring at his food, with Arthur and Kiku tryin' ta cheer him up. _'Matthew cares 'bout me?' _I thought to myself. Looking at him, I could see now that he cared. And it finally sunk in as to why I've been taking this as hard as I have. I loved Matthew. Probably more than I should. But I didn't care; this revelation made me see a glimmer of hope that Matthew and I could become friends again. And maybe somethin' more…but I doubt it. He only cared 'bout me cause I'm his friend, right? Cause who'd go out with a slang-talkin' southern belle like me, anyway?

"Why do you care all of the sudden?" I asked Alfred.

"Well, despite how I treat him, I love my brother. I hate to see him so depressed, so I finally decided to be the hero~" Alfred grinned.

"Alfred….thanks. For everythin'." I told him.

"It's what heroes do." Alfred chuckled. At that, I face palmed.

~~~POV Alfred~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I walked home from school, I saw my bro Mattie and Saphira chatting quietly. _'Good,'_ I thought to myself, _'now that they are patching things up, they'll both start being themselves again.'_ I smiled at that thought. Now all I had to take care of were those stupid bullies…

~~~POV Canada~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After about three weeks, Saphira finally let me explain myself. I told her what happened, and she forgave me. I was so happy I hugged her before I realized how awkward it was. Now that we were friends again, we were inseparable; always hanging out at my house and at school. Of course we still hung out with Arthur and Kiku, but mainly we spent time in each others company.

So, I was sitting at lunch one day when Saphira asked, "Hey, Mattie, wanna hang out today?"

I thought about how she always wants to hang out at my house, and never her own. So I decided to say, "Yea, we can, but it'll have to be at your house." Her pleasant smile vanished, replaced with a worried look.

But eventually, she replied, "Okay…you can walk home with me then." We spent the rest of the day just chatting with Arthur and Kiku. It was finally the end of the day. I was finally going to see Saphira's house. _'I wonder why she's never invited me over. Is she embarrassed?'_ I thought worriedly to myself.

"Hey bro," I heard Alfred yell.

I turned to him, "Yes?"

He gave me a wide grin and said gleefully, "I took care of those bullies of yours."

"W-what do you m-mean?" I questioned him.

"You'll be able to have Saphira as a girlfriend without worrying about one of you getting hurt." Alfred smiled at my reaction. I blushed at the mention of Saphira being my girlfriend.

"Yo, Matthew," I heard Saphira call to me, "You're comin' home with me, right? We better get goin', cause it's a long walk."

Alfred's eyes widened as he said, "Dude, you're going over to her house? That's great! Just try not to-"

"S-shut u-u-up!" I hissed at him before he could say something perverted.

He smirked at me and said, "Well dude, if you need any-"

"I said shut up!" I growled at I slapped my hand over his mouth. I gave him a glare before I walked over to Saphira.

As we headed out the door, Alfred yelled, "You two have fun!" Saphira looked at each other for a second and turned away, both of us blushing a bright red. I was going to have to kill Alfred later.

~~~POV Saphira~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'_He was going ta have ta come over sooner or later'_ I thought dejectedly as I walked along with Matthew to my apartment. _'I wish I could be with him without him knowing that I didn't have a mom or dad.'_

"H-how far away from y-your house are we?" Matthew asked, breaking the silence.

"Err…another minute and we'll be at my apartment." I replied, putting an emphasis on the word apartment. I expected him ta say something about me livin' in an apartment, but he just nodded. As I said, we arrived at my apartment in a few minutes. We walked in ta be greeted by my Asian Uncle.

"Aiyah! Is this the boy you've been talking so much about, Saphira-aru?" Leave it to my uncle ta blab something embarrassin' like that. I nodded, blushin' a dark red.

"Y-yeah, I'm M-Matthew Williams. Are y-you Saphira's d-dad?" Matthew asked. My stomach knotted up at this question. Now I was going ta have ta tell him about my parents.

"No-aru. I am her uncle." Giving me a knowing look, Uncle Yao turned and went to do some paperwork.

"S-Saphira…your uncle lives with you and your parents?" I sighed. Now I was going to be depressed the whole time Matthew was here.

"Err, no. Come ta my room and I'll explain." I said quietly as I led him to my room. We both sat down on the bed. I looked at Matthew, who was giving me a curious look. '_He of all people deserves ta know the truth' _

"I live here with my uncle. I…I don't have any parents anymore." I began, with tears springing into my eyes, "Eight years ago, my parents had just taken me somewhere for my eight birthday. We were driving home when it began ta rain. My dad, who was driving, couldn't see through the rain, and we got hit by an eighteen wheeler. My parents were killed on impact. Luckily, I survived, and came ta live with my godfather, who happened ta be my uncle." By the time I finished the short story, I was crying silent tears. I buried my face in my hands so that Matthew couldn't see my face. Retelling the story brought back so many bad memories that I try hard ta forget. I felt an arm go around me. I looked at Matthew, who was staring at my face with deep concern.

"S-Saphira, I'm sorry. I had no idea." He whispered.

"I-it's okay. It's not your fault. Anyway, it feels good ta finally tell someone the truth." I comforted him. When my tears finally dried, we spent the rest of the time like we normally do.

**A/N: Saphira (unknown to her new friends) didn't have friends at the places (Uncle Yao moved a lot after he took her in) she use to live, because she didn't want people thinking that she was some discarded orphan and pity her. But anyway, only one more chapter to go~ :D**

_**Chapter 4:**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia; otherwise there would never be a France. ;)**

**A/N: There is a time jump of about two months. FYI Saphira moved late in the year.**

**(About Two Months Later)**

~~~POV Canada~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been about two months since Saphira told me she didn't have any parents. But after going down that rocky road our friendship had become even stronger. Since it was toward the end of the school year, the prom was coming up. I've been trying for weeks to work up the courage to ask Saphira, but every time I froze.

"I just c-can't say it to h-her face." I moaned to my brother, Alfred, as we were getting our stuff from our lockers.

"Come on, Mattie, its not that hard to ask a girl out. Just pretend you're talking to me." he replied. I gave him a funny look until he caught his mistake, "Err, scratch that. Pretend you're talking out loud. Trust me, its much easier than it looks to ask girls out."

"M-maybe for you…" I muttered.

Alfred then gave me a serious glare and said, "Look, either you say it to her face, or I'm doing it for you."

"N-No," I gasped, "y-y-you wouldn't…w-would you, A-Al?"

"You bet I would. I don't want to watch my little bro let the best thing that's ever happened to him walk away. The prom is tonight. You have to ask her now, because I think Francis has his eye on her…"

'_Oh, God, if Francis gets anywhere near her…' _I shuddered at the thought of what Francis might do. Saphira already had plans to go to the prom so that she could hopefully she could make more friends. Without a date, she would be easy prey for people like Francis.

"O-okay…I'll ask h-her as soon a-as I see her."

"That's the spirit bro!" Alfred slapped my back playfully. I winced though, because even when he's holding back, it still kinda hurts to be hit by him. "See ya later Matt!"

I sighed as I walked slowly out of the building. How was I going to work up the courage to ask Saphira out? She probably wouldn't want to be seen at the prom with a nobody like me.

"Boo!" I heard someone whisper in my ear.

"Gah!" I turned around to see Saphira grinning, "G-gosh, don't s-sneak up on m-me like that, S-saphira.

"Sorry," she laughed, "did I really scare ya that bad? Man, you're jumpier than a fox. Hey, are ya goin' ta the prom tonight?"

I gulped. _'Great, now I have to ask her to the prom. Well, here goes nothing…'_ "W-well, I…I was…err,"

"Just spit it out, Matthew." Saphira smiled.

"Doyouwantogotothepromwithme?" I rushed to say. I already felt my cheeks heating up quickly.

"Do what?" she asked in her southern accent.

I took a deep breath and replied, "D-do you w-w-want to go t-to the prom with m-me, S-saphira? Err, just a-as friends, I-I guess…"

"Of course I will! I've been holdin' out for ya for the longest time. So many guys asked me out, I lost count! I was worried I'll show up alone and look like a loner." Saphira grinned as she hugged me. That only made my face turn an even darker red.

"O-oh, sorry. Well, err, d-do you want m-me to pick y-you up later tonight?" I questioned.

"Sorry, but my uncle would never allow it. But I'll meet you here at 7:00, 'kay?"

"Y-yeah, I'll s-see you then, Saphira." I called to her as she ran home.

I sighed with relief and leaned up against the school wall. _'Alfred was right, that wasn't too bad.' _

~~~POV Saphira~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'_Yes! Matthew finally worked up the nerve to ask me to the prom! Good timing too, otherwise I'd have no one to go with.'_ I thought giddily ta myself as I put on my lavender strapless dress on. _'Too bad he only wants to go as friends, though.'_ Looking at myself in the mirror, I realized how…feminine I looked in these clothes instead of those punk clothes I usually wear. I really didn't look like me at all, but in a good way. Then I headed downstairs ta go ta the prom ta meet up with Matthew.

"Saphira, come over here so I can see how you look-aru." I heard Uncle Yao call from the kitchen. I walked slowly in my high heels (God, I'm surprised I haven't broken my neck in these yet!) to where Uncle Yao was.

He looked at me for a while and said quietly, "You look as beautiful as your mother, Saphira." His eyes were glowing with joy. "You've grown up too fast-aru."

"Aww, I didn' know ya had a soft side, Uncle." I teased as I hugged him, "But thank ya anyway."

"Your welcome-aru. Aiyah! Hurry up or you'll be late for the dance!" Uncle Yao said as he ushered me out the door.

"I'm-a goin', Uncle! Just give me a minute! Well, I'll be seein' ya later." I replied as I walked out of our apartment complex and into my 1996 Dodge truck. I then cranked up the car and was on my way to meet Matthew at the dance…

**(A lil' while later)**

I don't think the prom was goin' as the teachers planned. Somebody had switched out the fruit punch in the punch bowl with alcohol, and the music was blaring out of the speakers. I'm surprised nobody called the police yet. Everyone else was partying and dancin' while I was in the corner waitin' for Matthew to show. I looked at my watch, _'6:55, curse me for comin' early!' _I sighed heavily, bored out of my mind, until I heard a familiar "honhonhonhon~". _'Great, just what I need. And I didn't bring my pocketknife, gun, or pepper spray!' _

"You better leave me the hell alone, Francis, unless you want another punch ta the face." I growled at him.

He smirked and said, "But it would be rude to leave such a _belle__jeune femme_ (beautiful young lady)here anole and not having fun, non?

"What did ya just call me?" I questioned him. Since I didn't know any French, I assumed he'd called me a bitch or somethin'.

"J'ai dit que vous êtes une belle jeune fille. Comment aimeriez-vous passer la nuit à ma place?" (I said you are a beautiful young lady. How would you like to spend the night at my place?) He replied while gettin' his rape face on. I had a feelin' if I knew what he said, I woulda smacked him.

Before I got the chance to, I heard someone behind him hiss, "H-hey, don't mess with Saphira. If I c-catch you s-saying something l-like that again, I'll k-kill you."

Francis turned around to see who was threatening him. I was surprised to see it was Mathew, and he looked pretty pissed off. Francis just stood there gaping at him like I did. He finally shook his head and quickly darted away. Matthew and I both sighed with relief.

"Hey, Matthew, do you know French?" I asked

His face hardened as he replied curtly, "Y-yes. I do."

"Well, could ya tell me what he said ta me? Cause I have no idea."

"H-he…uh, he said you were a b-beautiful young lady, and…and h-he wanted you to, err, come over t-t-to his h-house." Matthew said, his face as red as a tomato.

"That son of a bitch! When I get a hold of him, I'll whip him within an inch of his life!" I yelled in the general direction Francis ran off to. Oh well, I'll get him later. All of the sudden I heard the loud music turn off ta be replaced by slow dancin' music.

"Um, Saphira? W-would you like t-to dance w-with me?" I heard Matthew ask faintly.

"Err, yeah, I'd like that." I smiled at him. He led me ta the dance floor where most of the couples were dancing. He hesitated at first, but put his hands on my hips as I put my arms around his neck (not in a choke hold, of course!). We moved slowly in a small circle ta some song that I didn't recognize.

"Um…you're very b-beautiful tonight, Saphira." Matthew murmured

"Ya really think so?" I questioned

"O-of course, you always look pretty." Matthew said, blushing an even deeper red than before.

We danced in silence for what seemed like forever until Matthew finally said, "Umm, S-Saphira…I-I've been wanting t-t-to tell y-you s-something for a long time."

"What?" I asked. _'God, I hope he doesn't say he's gay. That would be just my luck; fallin' for a gay guy.'_

"I…I'minlovewithyou." He rushed to get out.

"Huh? Do what now?"

His face turned so red, it could be considered maroon. Before I could ask him to repeat what he said, I felt a warm pair of lips crash into mine nervously. It took my brain a few minutes to register that Matthew was kissing me. Finally! I started to kiss him back. He tasted like warm maple syrup; probably from all the pancakes he eats.

We probably would've kissed longer, but I heard Alfred cheer from somewhere near the punch bowl, "Woo-hoo! Go Mattie!"

Matthew broke the kiss and glare at his brother. His face looked so cute that I giggled a little bit. We dance a little more after that, and then I happened to see what time it was. _'11:30? Uncle Yao will kill me!'_

"I-is it time for you to go home, S-Saphira?" I heard Matthew ask.

"Ya, sorry. I wish I could stay here forever though!" I grinned at him.

"Do you need a ride home?"

"Naw, I got my 1996 Dodge truck parked outside," I replied, "but you can walk me ta my car if it makes ya feel better."

So, like a gentleman, he walked me to my car. I could tell something was on his mind though, so I asked, "What's up, Matthew? Somethin' wrong?"

"Well, err," he began, "I…I was w-wondering…w-would you g-go out with m-me?"

"That's what you were worrying 'bout?" I laughed, "C'mon, after kissin' ya I would hope ta go out with ya!" I gave him a hug to reassure him, but that only made his face turn redder. "Well, I better get goin' cause Uncle is already gonna kill me." But when I went ta crank up the truck, nothin' happened. _'Oh no, now Uncle Yao is really gonna kill me.'_

"Dammit! The damn truck is dead." I growled. Everythin' was goin' perfect too, until now.

"W-well…I guess y-you'll be riding w-with me, Saphira." Matthew mumbled.

"I guess I will be." I smiled at him. I locked my truck and walked with him ta his car. He opened the door for me, which I thought was so sweet! His car was a lot nicer than my truck, but my truck was 15 years old. On the ride home, I started humming a song my momma used ta sing ta me just 'bout every night.

"What song are you humming?" I hadn't realized I was hummin' that loud. Oops.

"I'm hummin' 'Texas, oh Texas'. My momma used ta sing it every night because I loved it so much. It sounded so pretty when my momma sang it." I sighed.

"Not as pretty as you." He mumbled.

"Really, Matthew? That's one of the oldest lines in the book." I giggled

"I couldn't really think of anything to say, honestly." Matthew chuckled quietly. In a blink of an eye we were at my apartment. Matthew was kind enough to walk me to my apartment, no matter how many times I told him that Uncle Yao would probably kill him.

And right on cue, as soon as Uncle Yao opened the door and saw Matthew, he yelled, "AIYAH! SAPHIRA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH A BOY-ARU!" Well, at least he didn't have his wok in his hands…


End file.
